Oil & Gas Innovation Summer 2020 Digital | Page 52

PROCESSING
Process Transformation: Amazon Filters
Launches Coalescer for Oil and Gas Industry
Running an efficient oil and gas company post-Covid is going to require the tightest control of operational
costs in a generation.
Already reeling from price levels at 30-year lows, the industry is grappling with rock-bottom demand,
excess refining capacity and headaches over storage availability.
Finding ways to innovate will be key to ensuring a sustainable operating model that combines
transformation with health and safety, process efficiencies, cashflow preservation, environmental issues
and compliance with regulatory standards.
Filtration and separation: a critical factor
One of the most critical processes in worldwide
oil and gas production is filtration and
separation. It’s a pivotal contributory factor to
protect process equipment and guarantee the
final purity and specification of output.
Implemented and managed successfully, a welldesigned
purification system can help to avoid
costly unscheduled downtime by solving many
complex challenges.
They include the removal of liquids and
solid contaminants, protection against liquidaerosol
contamination and the safeguarding of
machinery and equipment.
The UK filter maker Amazon Filters, one
of the leading manufacturers of meltblown
depth filters, has long supplied the oil and
gas industries with bespoke water filtration
solutions. These involve filter housings, depth
and pleated cartridge filters and other essential
products.
Client demand over many years has made
the 35-year-old company adept at applying its
expertise in fibre technology to the development
of polymer fibre-based coalescing.
SupaSep LG
Both liquid/liquid and liquid/gas polishing
processes are heavily dependent on high quality
coalescing cartridges for optimal performance,
along with appropriate design and sizing of the
separator vessel. Key to this is the relationship
between filter design and housing configuration.
Above: Neil Pizzey, MD, Amazon Filters. Right: SupaSep LG.
Amazon Filters has long added value here by
creating solutions tailored directly to each
customer’s application.
These prevent the risk of an otherwise highly
efficient coalescer being rendered useless
because of inappropriate, off-the-shelf or
poorly designed housings. Amazon Filters
is now launching the latest evolution in its
liquid-gas coalescer range, SupaSep LG.
Product development has been based directly
on the experience of working with oil and gas
operators and process package providers.
The launch follows the recent completion
of a rigorous laboratory testing programme
conducted in partnership with the worldrenowned
Faculty of Chemical and Process
Engineering at Warsaw University of
Technology. Experts there are at the very
forefront of meltblown fibre technology and
coalescer research and design.
Among its many applications, SupaSep LG is
ideal for protecting gas turbines and natural
gas compressors, lube oil recovery, and
protection of catalyst beds. It also supports the
recovery of fluids involved in the sweetening
and dehydration of natural gas.
Applying industry knowledge
Neil Pizzey, Amazon Filters Managing
Director said: “Our extensive knowledge in
designing pressure vessels for the oil and gas
sector means we are fully conversant with the
appropriate regulations and approvals
allowing us to streamline the manufacturing
process.
“Between us, our team has more than 100
years’ experience in coalescer design. By
working in parallel with industry customers
and our academic colleagues in Warsaw, we
are pooling a range of market-leading insight
to achieve the very best combination of
performance and cost.”
SupaSep LG is underpinned by a £0.75
million investment in manufacturing capacity
at Amazon Filters’ international production
centre in Camberley, Surrey.
Processes there are all governed by a range of
ISO-accredited Quality Management Systems.
Neil adds: “Our investment programme is
all about creating and maintaining a quick
and able capacity to meet customer need for
innovative, bespoke and highly cost-effective
solutions.
“SupaSep LG is a prime example. We can
manufacture both pleated and meltblown
depth configurations, selecting the most
appropriate by application.
“The ability to vary filtration efficiency
throughout the filter depth, as well as
conferring additional properties such as
oleo and hydrophobicity, further enhances
our capability to develop high performance
coalescers such as SupaSep LG.
“Manufacturing technologies allow us to
vary filtration fibre diameters, providing us
with additional tools to improve coalescing
performance.
The financial impact of Covid is set to mean
challenging times ahead for oil and gas
producers and contractors.
Every day a project implementation date is
delayed, potential revenue will be lost.
We stand ready to play our part by providing
the oil and gas industry with reliable products
such as SupaSep LG as part of bespoke
solutions that drive efficiencies and transform
operational performance.”
For more information on SupaSep LG and
other Amazon Filters’ solutions for the oil
and gas sectors, visit www.amazonfilters.com/
coalescers or call [phone].
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